Chinook

Anyone else notice that huge Chinook flying patterns over the east valley (Scottsdale) the last coupe days? I played Talking Stick yesterday and it was all over the place. Today I've noticed it flying patterns again.

Strange. I wonder if they are mapping something? When I first saw it yesterday I expected to see it lift a chiller on to the roof of the resort or something but no, it just kept circling and flying patterns all day.

They r over the rezz, so altitude doesnt matter. Also, not all military A/C have markings. Boeing only made 6 or 9? civilian BV234's which is the civilian designation and they are all owned by Columbia Helicopters in OR and are painted mostly white n orange and 1 black 1 (when I worked for them). They are way to costly to be setting Air cons on top of that casino. So, its prob military maybe doing something for the highschool? Saw them out there flying around the same time I was. My 2 cents.

Thanks for the input. This one is green and flew for almost 4 hours in a pattern between saguaro lake (only a couple rotations out that far) and between Talking Stick and about Taliesin (not sure how far west they went but could not be far given how long they were gone from eye or ear shot).

I doubt it's a high school PR event. 4 hours is a long time to operate for 14 yo stoners.

helimech,, does the FAA 500' sparsely populated clearance rule not apply over res land (they don't cover that when you take ground classes in IL,, its like,, 'rotor clouds,, yeah whatever')

For airplanes, there is the 500' rule.

The 500' rule doesn't apply in "other than sparsely populated areas". In those "other" areas, the rule is simply high enough that you can make an emergency landing if the engine goes out. This is liberally interpreted at times, but can also be interpreted to be "reckless" (why people hit power lines, etc).

Helicopters generally fly lower than airplanes and use different rules.

"It's only when you stand over it, you know, when you physically stand over the bike, that then you say 'hey, I don't have much stand over height', you know"-T. Ellsworth

James, Boeing retrofits them in mesa and builds them in PA. So maybe just flight testing??????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????
Phil, I have no connection with SDL ATC. Where I saw them turning circles was way south and might be out've SDLs area? Was wondering why they were there myself, since I have a history with those PIGS. All fun!!.

James, Boeing retrofits them in mesa and builds them in PA. So maybe just flight testing??????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????
Phil, I have no connection with SDL ATC. Where I saw them turning circles was way south and might be out've SDLs area? Was wondering why they were there myself, since I have a history with those PIGS. All fun!!.

I've seen advertisements for boeing production jobs at their facility there. They have a heliport right next to the airport and there's a warning in the AFD book to "NOT MISTAKE THE FIELD FOR AN AIRPORT". They had been advertising a Chinook pilot job for a long time. I guess they found at least one!

Go check google maps and go just north of Falcon Field. Big helicopter operation there. I flew down there fairly regularly and they never seemed to be flying the helicopters around much, but they were there for sure.

"It's only when you stand over it, you know, when you physically stand over the bike, that then you say 'hey, I don't have much stand over height', you know"-T. Ellsworth

Folks....the Apache Block III refit of Block I, II's and II+'s are going on and ramping up at the Higley plant....volume in terms of production increases significantly in 2013....so you're going to see more AH-64's doing their flights out over the rez out towards the lake and back. This is compounded by the 68 wartime loss of aircraft over the past few years which will also be replaced as Block III's....this thing was designed to stop T-72's through the Fulda Gap where they did not have to worry about sand issues as we've seen operating in two extended land wars in south west asia.

My best guess is the Chinook is used as a test-bed aircraft given it's interior size.

Could be the same one I saw last year practicing landings just nort of Phx. Sonoran Preserve in North Phoenix. I left the trail and bushwacked through the desert to take a closer look.. here's the shot I got...